Dominant 7th chord · F# root
F#7 chord
- F#1
- A#3
- C#5
- E♭7
The F# dominant 7th chord (also called the Gb7 chord — same notes, different spelling) is built from the notes F#, A#, C#, E. It turns up 3 times in the 104 songs on this site, including Hotel California.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the F#7 chord?
The F#7 chord (F# dominant 7th) is a dominant 7th chord built from four notes: F#, A#, C#, E — the 1–3–5–♭7 of the F# scale, 4 semitones and 7 semitones and 10 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played as a movable shape from fret 2 (2-4-2-3-2-2); shift all fretted notes together to transpose it along the neck. It is rated intermediate. A tense, bluesy chord that wants to resolve down a fifth. Across the 104 song sheets in this site's library, F#7 appears 3 times in 1 song, most often in the key of Bm, and the chord it most often moves to is A. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 3 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the F#7 chord on guitar?
Fret 2 barre — a movable shape, so this same fingering works for every root note.
- Lay your index finger flat across the low E to high E strings at fret 2, rolled slightly onto its bony edge.
- Press the A string at fret 4 with your ring finger.
- Press the G string at fret 3 with your middle finger.
- Strum all six strings and let every one ring.
Leave out the lowest fretted note (low E string) and practise the remaining strings. The bass changes, and the upper strings may still need a smaller barre; check that the third and other colour tones stay clear. x-4-2-3-2-2
How do you make F#7 sound clean?
F#7 at the 2nd fret is the E7 barre shape; players forget the barre and try to finger every note.
F#7 → Bm: the V7–i of B minor. One shape, three frets.
In real songs
What songs use the F#7 chord?
- chord changes
- 3
- songs
- 1
- common keys
- Bm
Across the 104 chord sheets on this site, F#7 appears 3 times in 1 song — most often in the key of Bm.
BmF#7AE
GDF#7Bm
Chord flow
What chord comes after F#7?
Those figures are counted from the 104 chord sheets on this site, so they describe what songwriters actually played rather than what theory says should come next.
Three-chord moves
Three-chord moves are where a chord really shows its character. These are the ones that actually happen in this library, counted from the sheets:
What other ways can you play F#7 up the neck?
2 more positions below. These are the same notes in a different part of the neck. Choosing the position closest to the chord you just played is what stops your hand jumping between changes.
Position 2 · Fret 4
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
At fret 4 the neck is still wide enough to keep your thumb behind it, which gives the fingers more reach than a thumb-over grip.
Position 3 · Fret 9 barre
Because nothing rings open, you can move this whole shape to any fret and it keeps the same quality — only the letter name changes.
A single bar covers the rest of the strings here. If the inside strings stay dead, move the bar a millimetre closer to the fret wire before you try pressing harder.
The theory behind F#7
F#7 is spelled F# – A# – C# – E — the 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 of the F# scale, which is the root plus 4 semitones, 7 semitones, 10 semitones. A tense, bluesy chord that wants to resolve down a fifth.
The flat seventh is a whole tone below the octave, and it is the note that creates the pull toward the chord a fifth below F#7. Mute that note by accident and the chord turns into a plain major triad.
What key is the F#7 chord in?
F#7 is the V7 in the key of B — in both B major and B minor — which is exactly why it resolves to B.
the dominant — the flat seventh is what pulls it home
the same dominant job in the minor key
F#7 on other instruments
F# – A# – C# – E — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
